THE FORGOTTEN WAR IN AFGHANISTAN NEWS: AUG 5-8, 2012

08/08/12 CBS: 3 U.S. troops killed in Afghanistan NATO says a suicide attack has killed three coalition troops in eastern Afghanistan, and a regional Afghan security official tells CBS News the slain troops were Americans. The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the assault.

08/08/12 NATO: ISAF Casualties KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 8, 2012) — Three International Security Assistance Force service members died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan today.

08/07/12 NATO: ISAF Casualty KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 7, 2012) — An International Security Assistance Force service member died when two individuals wearing Afghan National Army uniforms turned their weapons against ISAF service members in eastern Afghanistan today.

08/07/12 ADN: 2 U.S. soldiers wounded in thwarted suicide blast in Afghanistan Two U.S. soldiers and 11 Afghan civilians were injured Tuesday when a suicide truck bomb exploded outside a coalition base in the eastern province of Logar, provincial officials said. The Logar incident followed the bombing of a minibus in Kabul that killed eight civilians.

08/07/12 AP: Gunmen in Afghan army uniforms kill US soldier, wound 2 others Two gunmen wearing Afghan National Army uniforms turned their weapons on Nato troops Tuesday, killing an American service member and wounding two others, U.S. and coalition officials said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the shooting in eastern Afghanistan — the latest in a rising number of so-called "green-on-blue" attacks in which Afghan security forces, or insurgents disguised in their uniforms, kill their U.S. or Nato partners.

08/07/12 TOLONews: NATO Appoints New Envoy to Afghanistan NATO announced that it has appointed Maurits R. Jochems as the new Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan. "Our mission in Afghanistan is in a very important phase and I look forward to helping to ensure that the transition goes smoothly," said Ambassador Jochems. "I will also make it a priority to continue the good work in forging a close working partnership with the Government of Afghanistan and other actors. The success of our mission will be vital to secure a stable and prosperous Afghanistan. That is my goal."

08/07/12 NATO: ISAF casualty KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 6, 2012) — An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an insurgent attack in southern Afghanistan today.

08/07/12 iwpr: Rocket Attacks Continue on Eastern Afghanistan Rockets continued to fall on Afghanistan’s Kunar province in July, as arguments raged over who was behind the barrage. Senior Afghan officials pointed the finger at the Pakistani military, saying that only Islamabad had access to the munitions used. Pakistan has denied the allegation, while the United States Defence Department and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, ISAF, have indicated that insurgents may be to blame.

08/07/12 AFP: Truck bomber wounds soldiers at Afghan NATO base A powerful suicide truck bomb exploded at a NATO military base south of the Afghan capital Tuesday, wounding three soldiers and at least 17 civilians, Afghan police said. Just hours earlier, a Taliban bomb killed nine people and wounded five when it struck a minibus on the western outskirts of Kabul, amid growing unrest in areas neighbouring the Afghan capital.

08/07/12 NATO: ISAF Casualty KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 7, 2012) — An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an improvised explosive device attack in southern Afghanistan today.

08/07/12 NATO: ISAF Casualty KABUL, Afghanistan (Aug. 7, 2012) — An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan today.

08/07/12 Stuff: No pressure on Hungary Prime Minister John Key says he will not put diplomatic pressure on Hungary to force its troops in Afghanistan to help stop attacks on New Zealand troops in the Bamiyan province. Kiwi soldiers are extending their patrols further into the "badlands" east of Bamiyan to intercept insurgents responsible for an attack that killed two New Zealanders and injured six more.

08/06/12 stuff: Kiwi soldiers killed in Afghanistan named Defence Force Chief Lieutenant General Rhys Jones described the attack as a "show of force"...He also named the two 26-year-old soldiers killed in a firefight with insurgents on Saturday night after they went to assist local police forces. They were Lance Corporals Pralli Durrer of Christchurch and Rory Malone of Auckland. It was their first deployment to Afghanistan as part of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT).

08/06/12 BBC: Eleven Afghan police defect to Taliban in Helmand province Eleven Afghan policemen have defected to the Taliban in the southern province of Helmand, officials say. The men switched sides early on Monday in Musa Qala district, taking with them weapons and three motorcycles, a provincial spokesman told the BBC.

08/06/12 Tolonews: 14 Insurgents Renounce Violence in Balkh A group of 14 insurgents laid down weapons in northern Balkh province on Sunday, local officials said. The men were found in the Chahar Bolak and Chamtal districts of the province and fought against government in the province, the provincial Head of High Peace Council Department Akhtar Mohammad Imrahimkhil said.

08/06/12 Xinhua: Donkey bomb kills district police chief, wounds 3 in Afghanistan The anti-government militants planted mine on the back of a donkey and targeted a district police chief killing him on the spot and injuring three others in Ghor province 360 km west of Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, provincial police chief said.

08/05/12 tvnz: Soldiers to stay in Afghanistan despite troops' deaths - John Key Prime Minister John Key says despite two New Zealand soldiers being killed in a "major gunfight" in Bamiyan Province Kiwi troops will not leave Afghanistan earlier than planned. Two Christchurch-based soldiers from the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) were killed after a fierce three-minute firefight on Saturday night.

08/05/12 AP: Britain returns stolen artifacts to Afghanistan The National Museum of Afghanistan has welcomed the return of hundreds of rare artifacts that were looted during the country's civil wars over the last two decades. It says the British Embassy on Sunday turned over the collection including a 3,000-year-old axe, a rare first-century carved ivory elephant and an early stone Buddha statue.

08/05/12 DoD: Army Casualty Idenitified (2 of 2) Staff Sgt. Matthew S. Sitton, 26, of Largo, Fla...died Aug. 2, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when they encountered an enemy improvised explosive device. These Soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

08/05/12 DoD: Army Casualty Idenitified (1 of 2) 1st Sgt. Russell R. Bell, 37, of Tyler, Texas...died Aug. 2, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when they encountered an enemy improvised explosive device. These Soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.